The present invention relates to chairs and, more particularly, to a rocking chair that can be positioned as a reclining chair and is capable of being folded for transportation and storage.
There are chairs that rock, chairs that recline, chairs that rock and recline, and even versions of rockers and recliners that can be folded for transportation and storage. However, until this invention, there have not been any chairs that accomplish all three tasks: rock, recline and fold. The combination rocker/recliners heretofore available utilize complex unsightly mechanisms and heavy, cumbersome support structures to make them work safely. Such chairs require unattractive upholstery to hide the said mechanisms. Additionally, some of these chairs move from one position to the other with a rapid, unnatural action; some often feel as if they will topple over; some require great effort to move from one position to the other position; many require getting out of the chair to manipulate its mechanism from one position to the other; and most require greater effort than many senior citizens are capable of exerting just to get out of the chair.
A rocking, reclining, foldable chair, comprising: a curved rocker having a straight or reverse curved extension; leg(s) pivotally attached to said rocker; a seat pivotally attached to said leg(s); a back pivotally attached to said seat or leg(s); arms movably connected to said back; a leg rest pivotally connected to said seat and arms via said arms to said back; locking support means to hold the chair folded for transportation and/or storage and unfolded for use; and additional locking support means to hold the chair in its rocking position when locked and in its reclining positions when unlocked.
In a more preferred embodiment, the moving means includes arms; a leg rest; slots in either said arms or said leg rest; and pins attached to the upper end of each leg rest or to the arms engaging said slots such that said pins are located at the first end of the slots when the chair is in the rocking position, said pins being located at the second end of the said slots when said chair is in the reclining position, whereby said pins move from one end of said slots to the other end of said slots when a user pulls up on said arms and shifts their weight backward in said chair thereby moving said leg rest, said seat and said back from said rocking position to said reclining position and whereby a user can return to the rocking position merely by shifting his or her weight forward which reverses the process and allows the arms to drop and the pins to lock at the first end of the slots.
In a further embodiment, the invention is a method for a person sitting in a chair to go from an erect rocking position to a reclining position and back to the rocking position by shifting his or her weight, comprising the steps of (a) providing a chair which can rock and recline; and (b) balancing the lengths of the components of the chair and the angles that the components bear to each other whereby, the user can move virtually effortlessly from the rocking position to the reclining position and back to the rocking position by changing the combined center of gravity of the user and the chair merely by shifting his or her weight by leaning backward or forward.